Pride Panel Event with David Levithan, Gabriel Duckels, Maia Kobabe, and Lucky Srikumar/The Fight of Our Lives and Opting Out

Join Anderson’s Bookshop for a Pride Panel event with David Levithan and Gabriel Duckels, to celebrate the release of The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America on Tuesday, June 30th at 7:00 pm in our Naperville store. Levithan and Duckels will be in conversation with author Maia Kobabe and illustrator Lucky Srikumar, celebrating the release of Opting Out.

Event Format

We will begin checking you in approximately 30 minutes before the start time. After a presentation and Q&A with the authors, the line will form in numbered order with the following guidelines:

• Posed photo with your camera taken by our staff

• There is a limit of 2 books from home to be signed per author (unless otherwise stated)
  

• There is a limit of 1 personalization per author (unless otherwise stated)

Pre-registration is required for this event because space is limited.

More about The Fight of Our Lives:

A thoughtful, poignant look at the AIDS crisis in the United States that includes primary source interviews, history, medical research, and cultural touchpoints.

The AIDS crisis in America is complex and composed of countless individual stories of grief, love, and advocacy. Its history shows the power of youth activism, how creativity and community can be vehicles for social change, and how bigotry and misinformation led to inequality in care.

The early days of the AIDS crisis saw LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities making strides in the fight for equality. As many people in positions of power were slow to act or actively didn’t pay attention until their own communities were affected, the fight for equality turned into a fight for their lives. Grassroots efforts filled in gaps where mainstream medicine and politics failed, and over time, a cultural shift of awareness emerged, which led to more research and more treatments. And while the disease has transitioned from a death sentence to one that people can live full lives with, there are still people dying of HIV/AIDS today because they can’t access the care they need. The fight may have begun decades ago, but is not yet over.

Award-winning author David Levithan and University of Cambridge PhD Gabriel Duckels detail a brief history of the epidemic, touching on key moments and figures, such as Ryan White, ACT UP, Larry Kramer and Anthony Fauci, Pedro Zamora from MTV’s The Real World, and the Names Quilt. Threaded throughout are poems, essays, and other creative works, in addition to first-person interviews and narratives. The most important takeaway is that we must remember. We need to know what happened and why. Our voices are powerful, and they can make a difference.

More about Opting Out:

From the award-winning author/illustrator of GENDER QUEER and a bright new talent, the story of a kid named Saachi, who is navigating friendship woes, sister issues, a new crush, and a resistance to blue-and-pink binaries.

Bodies are the worst. I wish I didn't have a body.

Saachi is a storyteller. At school, she's surrounded by kids she's known forever -- including her best friend, Lyla, who shares Saachi's love of fantasy novels and creating new worlds.

But as seventh grade starts, kids are changing. Suddenly, it matters who you like and if you can find a boyfriend or girlfriend. Even Lyla seems more interested in hanging out with her new boyfriend than in writing and drawing with Saachi anymore. Saachi's not interested in any of that boy/girl stuff. Why can't things just stay the way they were?

Saachi also doesn't love all the ways her body is changing. What if she doesn't feel like a girl -- or like a boy, either? In a world where there is so much either/or, Saachi is going to need to find her own options . . . and create her own story.

About the Authors: 

David Levithan is the author of several books for young adults, including Lambda Literary Award winner Two Boys Kissing; Every Day; Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares (co-authored with Rachel Cohn); Will Grayson, Will Grayson (co-authored with John Green); and Boy Meets Boy. In 2016, David received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for his significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

Gabriel Duckels is a writer and scholar based in Austin. He holds a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge and teaches at Texas State University.

Maia Kobabe is an author and illustrator from the Bay Area, California. This is eir first book for middle-grade readers. E is also the author of two books for young adults. Gender Queer: A Memoir won a Stonewall Honor and an Alex Award from the American Library Association in 2020 and was also the most challenged book in the US in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding was created with Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier. When not drawing or writing, Maia is usually listening to K-pop music, practicing Taekwondo, studying Spanish, or picking up books from the library.

Swati "Lucky" Srikumar was raised as a third-culture kid born in Singapore to Indian immigrant parents. At age nineteen, they moved to California, where they've resided ever since. They draw comics about the ever-changing aspects of their identity, including queerness, race, disability, and cat ownership. They love to build community and find common ground with all kinds of people through humor and art. They enjoy knitting, bird-watching, and puns. Opting Out is their first book.